Best Sunglasses for Men

21 Pairs of Sunglasses for Every Occasion

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No doubt you’ve already broken in your flip-flops and got your first sunburn — summer is in full swing. Cue lazy long weekends at the beach or at the lake, and, equally as likely, sunny commutes to and from the office. What better way to enjoy the sun shining than slipping on a solid pair of shades? Realistically, a good pair of sunglasses is an asset any time of year, but given the warm weather, sunglasses are feeling especially imperative to your daily look.

We recommend buying up two pairs of sunglasses for the summer months: one you’re okay with losing, and one nice pair. That’s because while a stylish pair of $20 sunglasses that are built to float in the pool may be perfect for your next barbecue, chances are they aren’t quite nice enough to slip on with your suit as you head into the office and they may even provide inferior UV protection, depending on just how cheap they are. Afterall, not all sunglasses are created equal.

What to Look For

Style: Finding the right style of sunglasses is not always easy, but chances are once you have found the style you like, you’ll stick with them. Popular styles include aviator and wayfarer made famous by Ray-Ban as well as round and square styles for casual glasses as well as shield and wrap styles for sports glasses. Different face shapes work well with different styles of glasses. Read out detailed break down as to which styles look best on your face here.

Materials: Do you prefer metals such as titanium, aluminium or stainless steel or do you prefer plastics such as cellulose acetate, blended nylon or epoxy resin? Those are the two most popular materials for shades, with wood coming in a distant third.

Frame Color: Choosing the color of your frames is a personal choice, but the most popular are black, tortoiseshell and metals.

Lens Color: Dark colors such as browns, greens and greys work for everyday and most easy outdoor activities. Darker shades are intended primarily to cut through the glare and reduce eyestrain in moderate-to-bright conditions. Light colors such as yellows, ambers and even rose are often great for outdoor sports where visibility is important such as skiing, snowboarding and other snow sports. They improve the visibility of objects by providing excellent depth perception and enhancing contrasts in flat-light conditions.

With that in mind, we took to the internet to find you the best sunglasses, whether you’re looking for your next pair of cheap-and-cheerful sunnies or if you’re for your sleek pair of happy-hour-with-the-boss shades.

Best Polarized Sunglasses for Men

Polarized shades are great for keeping from having to deal with the glare from water or snow.You never knew you needed polarized glasses until you wear your first pair. After that, good luck ever going back.

Costa del Mar Tuna Polarized Wrap Sunglasses

RIVBOS Polarized Sports Sunglasses

Practicably unbreakable and available in myriad lens colors to provide superior polarized UV protection, these are going to be just about the best sports sunglasses you can get for the price.$21.98 at Amazon.com

Sunski Dipsea Sunglasses

You can have optimal polarization as well as stylish shades all in one pair of sunglasses. If that’s what you are looking for, look no further — you found them with these.$58 at Sunski.com

Best Aviator Sunglasses for Men

We can’t say these sunglasses would be as popular if Tom Cruise didn’t don them in “Top Gun,” but we can’t say they wouldn’t be either. (We don’t mean the other style Cruise made popular.) A popular style thanks to their universally flattering shape, aviators are a go-to for a lot of folks, so it makes sense why there are so many good ones.

Ray-Ban Aviator Sunglasses

Montblanc Navigator Aviator-Style Sunglasses

If you want a different take on the classic style, opt for a squared off frame in clear acetate.$390 at MrPorter.com

Persol PO0649 Aviator Sunglasses

These stylish summer shades in a rich and flattering tortoiseshell acetate and brown lenses fold up to make looking good a lot more compact.$395 at SunglassHut.com

Best Cheap Sunglasses for Men

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, not all sunglasses are made the same. Not all inexpensive sunglasses are bad, but there are certainly a lot of bad sunglasses which are inexpensive. These deliver great UV protection with a stylish design.

Eye Love Sunglasses

It’s hard to go wrong with a classic wayfarer, so channel your inner budget “Blues Brothers” with this iconic style.$29.97 at Amazon.com

Grey Jack Aviator Sunglasses

Sure, these look a lot like another style on our list, but if you have a type and you’ve dropped major coin, you may want a backup pair that feels the same for that hiking trip or to wear at the pool.$19 at Amazon.com

Spitfire Linon Flip Sunglasses

Round shades with flip lenses are all the rage right now — but they won’t be forever. Spend less and try out the trend before you commit major cash.$39 at ILoveSpitfire.com

Best Sport Sunglasses for Men

What makes a good pair of sport sunglasses for men? Great UV protection, lightweight frames and polarized lenses. Look for lens colors that suit the needs of the sport in which you are participating.

Karün Kona Blue Sport Sunglasses

Enjoy doing sports in nature? These sunglasses help keep all that nature you love free of waste. How? Different types of waste — such as fishing nets — that affect natural ecosystems are collected in the south of Chile by local rural entrepreneurs to create tough, stylish sunglasses.$280 at KarunWorld.com

It’s no surprise Smith is one of the most popular sports optics brands you can buy. Using its proprietary ChromaPop lens technology enhances clarity and natural color allowing you to see more detail.$96.86 at Amazon.com

SPY Optic Scoop 2 Sunglasses

HD+ lens technology enhances color and contrast and provides distortion-free optics and available polarization blocks over 99% of surface glare. Add to that the Scoop ventilation system to increase air flow and decrease fog and you have yourself a pair of kick-ass sports sunglasses.$110 at SpyOptic.com

Best Prescription Sunglasses for Men

Yes, there are bigger problems in the world than switching between sunglasses and your daily frames, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still as pain in the ass anyway. These shades are great for prescription wearers thanks to their low-price prescription model.

EyeBuyDirect Flier Aviator Sunglasses

Warby Parker Downing Sunglasses

With most prescription options coming in under $200, you could get two pairs for the same price as one (ore less) from most other big brands. Why not switch things up?From $95 at WarbyParker.com

Gunner Atherton Prescription Sunglasses

Gunner is one of the leaders in anti-blue light protection and known for their gaming glasses. These stylish specs have a BLPH, or Blue Light Protection Factor of 90. Combine that with 100% UV protection and you have a pair of prescription glasses that don’t just do double duty, but triple duty.From $249.99 at Gunner.com

Best UV Protection Sunglasses for Men

UV protection isn’t just important for your face and body when you’re out in the sun, but it’s incredibly important for your eyes. So always wear protection — literally. Most of these sunglasses on our list offer 100% UV protection, so these are just icing on the cake.

Raen Remmy Retro Round Sunglasses

These super stylish shades use Green Polarized CR-39 lenses manufactured by Carl Zeiss Vision and featuring 100% UV protection with a six base curve.$170 at Raen.com

Roka Shield Lens Performance Sunglasses

These premium sports shades protect a lot of surface area with and extremely versatile high-contrast, anti-scratch lens which also offers significant infrared protection. Designed for partly cloudy to bright and sunny conditions, this lens is interchangeable and includes critical performance coatings to keep moisture of any kind from sticking on the lens.$150 at Roka.com

Rheos Sapelos Floating Polarized Sunglasses

If fishing or boating is the main way you pass the time (or even if they aren’t) these shades are perfect. Lightweight and durable TPX frame construction makes these sunglasses a full 20% lighter than average frames. Lenses are polarized with 100% UV protection and include dual anti-scratch and anti-reflection layers as well as shatterproof technology.$55 at Amazon.com

Best Sunglasses for Driving

If you’re planning on hitting the road, you’ll surely benefit from a quality pair of sunglasses. Look for a pair that reduce glare, ease eye fatigue and protect from UV rays. A quality pair of polarized driving sunglasses can make driving safer and much more comfortable.

Maui Jim Peahi Sunglasses

Grilamid is a light, durable polymer with extreme bending strength and shape-retention properties and it makes up the frame of these bad boys. Brown lenses like these increase contrast and are perfect for driving in both cloudy and bright conditions.$249.99 at TommyBahama.com

ATTCL Driving Polarized Sports Sunglasses

If you’re wearing yellow shades, you mean business — or at least you look like you do. Often worn by pilots, fishermen, hunters and boaters, yellow lenses increase contrast and depth perception but can also increase color distortion.$22 at Amazon.com

Serengeti Velocity Sunglasses

These Serengeti photochromic glass lenses darken is super bright light, which make them a great addition to whatever vehicle you may be setting off in. The rosy hue is known reduce eye strain by brightening colors, enhancing clarity and reducing glare.$209.99 at Amazon.com

Whether you’re looking for glasses to wear by the pool or glasses for flight school, one of these pairs should prove beneficial now, and any time of year.

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